Gasoline

EPA Retains 2025 Emissions Targets

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed leaving in place its emissions standards for light-duty vehicles through 2025 in a move that's expected to face opposition from automakers.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the standards, which were established in 2012, should stay on track to "nearly double fuel economy, dramatically cut carbon pollution, maintain regulatory certainty for a global industry, and save American drivers billions of dollars at the pump."

The EPA is in the midst of its midterm evaluation of the 2025 standards that seek to boost fuel efficiency to over 50 mpg by 2025.

The proposal could face uncertainty with the incoming administration of president-elect Donald Trump, who has called for the elimination of federal regulations.

The current plan should stay in place, according to the EPA, because of "extensive technical analysis" that shows that automakers are expected to meet the standards, according to a release. Automakers met the standards for the 2015 model year.

The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in December fell to 25 mpg — down 0.2 mpg from a revised November value, according to Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak, researchers from the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

The national average price of unleaded gasoline jumped 5 cents to $2.49 per gallon in the first week of 2018 and has reached a level not seen since 2014 during the week that starts the new year, according to AAA.